February is winding down, and what a fun month it’s been! Valentine’s Day parties took place, and we celebrated our beloved Grandparents and Special Friends, as well. The exciting time of re-enrollment also began; isn’t it crazy to already think about next school year?!

We ended January with a wonderful LAPS event, where students learned that “myelin is their friend” from guest speaker Lew Gallego and how important it is to “eat the rainbow”. Very special thanks to Jennifer Marangos for chairing this endeavor for the second year in a row! I also must thank her amazing team of volunteers: Audra Agramonte, Sarah Callaway, Lindsay Gallego, Angela Hammett, Georgia Handy, Jennifer Lee, Christine Lewis, Regina Marcus, Jen Pisciotto, Tracee Sama, Cherie Spencer, David and Lori Stenson, Marjorie Territo, Jaime Veccia, Heather Vidulich, and Kim Webb. All proceeds from LAPS are going to the new playground, so thank you for your generous donations!

Our Jaguar Student Athletes finished up Basketball (Boys) and Soccer (Girls) seasons. They are both gearing up to begin Lacrosse! Schedules for both teams are posted on our website at http://www.sjsonline.org/sports-schedules/ and can also be found on RenWeb. Come cheer on our Jags!

The Early Childhood Academy is still looking for a dedicated individual to join its faculty as a Teacher Assistant. The candidate needs to have a high school diploma or equivalent, experience working in a licensed childcare facility (where all licensing guidelines were followed and all policies, procedures, and standards implemented), and must be at least 18 years of age. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Dolores at (561) 278-7735.

Grandparents’ Day and Special Friends’ Day, which took place on February 17th, was another wonderfully memorable day! Very special thanks to Audra Agramonte for chairing this event again this year, and special thanks to her amazing team of parent volunteers who helped serve breakfast, worked the check-in tables, and so much more: Kelly Alexander, Michelle Ambrozy-Sasko, Mia Anderton, Sarah Callaway, Kayla Chomko, Kristin Elliott, Arleen Falcones, Marsha Farmer, Erika Flynn, Lucy Goldin, Lynn Haddad, Angela Hammett, Georgia Handy, Meredith Housman, Jennifer Lee, Jen Marangos, Regina Marcus, Amy McCabe, Rachel Oyler, Jen Pisciotto, Tracee Sama, Cherie Spencer, Colette Turner, Jaime Veccia, Kim Webb, and Carrie Wilt. Thank you, also, to the parents who graciously dropped off food and drinks for the event. I heard a plethora of positive remarks that day; my personal favorite was, “This is my favorite day of the year!”

Mrs. Williams and I would like to thank the wonderful volunteer moms who made this year’s Book Fair a huge success! Special thanks to Patty Jones, Clara Bednar, Sarah Callaway, Sherri Claude, and Jen Pisciotto for being an amazing “set-up” crew; they worked diligently to make the room beautiful! Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day would not have flowed as smoothly without Patty, Renee Reiersen, and Tracee Sama, so we thank you very much, as well. We are already looking forward to next year!

As I wrote in the September issue, an exciting opportunity for our Middle School students is to become members of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). To be eligible for NJHS, students must possess five characteristics: scholarship, leadership, service, character, and citizenship. Students must earn a 91.5% in all courses at the end of the first semester to be considered for membership. A faculty/staff committee will then determine which students qualify for an official membership invitation. Students eligible this year will receive more information—including an invitation to this spring’s induction ceremony—soon!

Our annual Auction—Southern Nights 2017—will be here before we know it! We are holding this event in our Gym on Saturday, April 1st. Every year, we ask each family to contribute at least two items for bidding—ranging from gift cards to vacation getaways. Each child earns a Dress Down Day on March 17th for submitting two acquisitions! For more information, including where to print donation forms, please visit the Auction page of our website at http://www.sjsonline.org/auction/.

Looking forward to March… We have altered our annual Faculty Vs. Student Soccer Game to now include alumni! So, on March 3rd, current Faculty/Staff and Students will play against Alumni in a fun game of Soccer; please come and cheer your favorites on! That night, the PO is sponsoring its second Movie Night. Please RSVP to Kelly at (561) 732-2045 if you plan to attend one or both events. Also, in March, our annual talent show, Jags Got Talent, is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14th, at 6:30. Finally, I’m sure we are all looking forward to Spring Break from March 20th to the 24th. :-)

Lastly, if you need to drop your child(ren) off at school prior to 7:30 AM, please utilize our Early Care/Before School Care program. From 7:00 to 7:30 each morning, students are to come to the Office as teachers do not open classroom doors until 7:30. I facilitate Early Care, so they are welcome to work on homework, AR read, or just visit with me. This costs $8 per day, and it is billed monthly through FACTS. If you have questions about Early Care, please let me know.

On a personal note, I want to share with you--my wonderfully supportive and loving St. Joe's family--that my wife, Rhiannon, is expecting! We will welcome this precious gift from God in August, just in time for the 2017-2018 school year to begin! :-)

Our four-year-old son, Keaton, is beyond excited to be “promoted to big brother”!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to the Office, to teachers, to Division Heads, and/or to me directly. The relationship between home and school is essential to all of us at St. Joe’s!